Marvel's Daredevil

[Velorath]

Due to their business model, it's hard to tell to what extent another season (or even this season) makes them money. They had record subscriber growth last quarter with the third season of House of Cards and the launch of Bloodline and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. This quarter they have the launch of Daredevil, Grace and Frankie (Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin comedy), Sense8 (the Wachowski's and J. Michael Straczynski), and the third season of Orange is the New Black. They're apparently forecasting a net increase of 1.9 million internationally for Q2 which they say is traditionally a slow period for them, compared to the 4.9 million subs they gained in Q1. It will be interesting to see the Q2 numbers in a few months and to what extent they can be attributed to Daredevil.

[Mattemeo]

Daredevil is going to bring in a pretty substantial ammount of new viewers; universal acclaim and the good will of Marvel fans has pretty much guaranteed Netflix' success on this one. This will probably be their best 2nd Quarter since they started.

[jgsugden]

They are doing a lot to draw people in... but then they need to continue to do stuff to keep them.  They really need to give long term subscribers some 'thank you' type stuff to discourage people dropping Netflix for 6 months and then getting it back for 6 months. 

[Tannhauser]

Very happy for a 2nd season of DD, though I'm slightly concerned about a new showrunner.  Also, the comedy classic 'Airplane!' is leaving Netflix next month, and I surely am serious.

[jgsugden]

The new show runners are in the same family and wrote episodes of the current season - I'm not terribly worried that they'll take the quality down beneath the second half of this season... but I am not confident they'll raise it back up to the first few episodes.

OOC: This season was very dark with the lighting - which makes sense given the character.  However, some of the action was hard to see.  Would folks have liked it to be lightened up a bit so we could see more detail?

[Bunk]

OOC: This season was very dark with the lighting - which makes sense given the character.  However, some of the action was hard to see.  Would folks have liked it to be lightened up a bit so we could see more detail?

In a word, no. I liked that most of the fights were dark and hard to see, with a few exceptions that were a little more detailed like the hallway fight. Helped make that fight stand out as special. The darkness just worked too well to move away from it. Fits the character and the mood of the series - he's only Daredevil at night. Plus, with the costume now the last thing I want is to brighten things up. Keep it in the dark so he doesn't end up looking like Kickass running around in a scuba suit.

Hell, it would fit the character even more if his first move was to always break all the lights. Would kinda suck for tv though.

[eldaec]

For a few episodes I was wondering why I didn't hate the low lighting (usually I do).

After a while started to notice highlights were either strategically positioned so you could always see what the fuck was going on and what you were supposed to focus on, or stuff was done off-screen/behind a thing so you were clear you didn't need to strain to see anything.

Anyway, this was great, in many respects better than the films. Though I'm not completely sure it will benefit from many more episodes, we'll see I guess.

[MahrinSkel]

Okay, finally worked all the way through; It's awesome. The final episode, unfortunately, actually seems the weakest in a lot of ways, the strongest are probably about episodes 9-10. Get the feeling that they were not shot in order, that the first few episodes were done in the middle of the shooting series (when all the actors were comfortable with their characters and the director had really hit his stride), and the 'final' episode in this season was actually one of the very first shot.

--Dave

[Malakili]

Just watched the first two episodes with my wife.  We are hooked. 

[Thrawn]

Just watched the first two episodes with my wife.  We are hooked. 

Exact same today.

[Torinak]

That was surprisingly good. I was apathetic at best toward DD as a hero before, but the show kept me watching. DD felt a lot more "real" than many heroes do, especially how they made it clear he's not invulnerable. Having Fisk as a bad guy with a lot of depth was much better than the normal Hollywood mustache-twirling villain. The multiple Avengers references were a nice touch to cement the series in the Marvel Universe.

One concern about a potential issue in season two:

[Teleku]

Realistically though, I cannot fathom how they can bring back Fisk.  Only if he escapes and is living totally underground, hiding in a sewer lair like the ninja turtles, as he directs everything.  Not only did he get pinned for all sorts of murders, he had a ton of cops killed during his escape attempt.  There is no way he will be able to lawyer his way out of things magically that won't totally blow the entire feeling of the show out of the water.

They'll need a different villan for season two.

[Surlyboi]

[Teleku]

Considering he made a cameo in season one, not a bad bet.

[Nevermore]

Did they already deal with the Hand?  What about Elektra?

[Evildrider]

Well they had a Hand leader on the show.. Nobu.  I am sure there is going to be some consequences down the line for that.  Which could be Elektra.  She was at least referenced as Matt's ex-gf.

[MahrinSkel]

They've made references that could be various people (Steel Serpent, Crane Mother, Elektra, Stone, Owl), and there's no reason they have to limit themselves to those. Some are more clear as future hooks than others (Stone was pretty heavily hinted, while Elektra was a bit iffy even as a reference), and some are probably intended for the Luke Cage series.

I think Bullseye was obviously intended, why else would you put that playing card into this series?

--Dave

[Evildrider]

I think they are probably going to save the heavier mysticism stuff for when Iron Fist shows up.  There are rumblings that it could be Lady Bullseye that shows up and not the original as well.

[MahrinSkel]

We've had some arguments over how magic/mysticism could be introduced into the MCU (which has leaned pretty hard on magic just being science Earth doesn't understand), coming in through the Netflix series could be a good way to do it without putting the main stream of the movies and broadcast TV at risk if it doesn't work.

--Dave

[Merusk]

Yeah, except mysticism and magic have to be introduced AND work in the movies. Doctor Strange is out next year, Iron Fist isn't going to be on Netflix before that.

[jgsugden]

Also, they have to consider multiple groups when they introduce it: People that only see the series/movie where it is introduced, people that only see some of the series/shows and people that see all of them.  The magic has to stand on its own, and as part of the greater MCU.  Given that they distanced themselves from it with their Thor take, it will be an interesting challenge. 

[Merusk]

I saw that rumor this morning when looking up Dr. Strange's release date (since I thought it was 2017 not 16)  They all said "Iron Fist" at that point, which comes out after themovie..

[Teleku]

They didn't so much shy away from magic with Thor, as they avoided divinity.  Saying that there are actual gods with divine powers opens up a whole can of worms that's best avoided.  Magic and mysticism are a different beast.

[Merusk]

Erik Selvig: I'm talking about science, not magic.
Jane Foster: Well, "magic's just science we don't understand yet." Arthur C. Clarke.
Erik Selvig: Who wrote science-fiction.
Jane Foster: A precursor to science fact!
Erik Selvig: In some cases, yeah.
Jane Foster: Well, if there's an Einstein-Rosen bridge, then there's something on the other side. And advanced beings could have crossed it!
Erik Selvig: Oh, Jane.
Darcy: A primitive culture like the Vikings might have worshiped them as deities.
Jane Foster: Yes! Yes, exactly. Thank you.

Thor: Because you're right. Here, look. [opens her notebook] Your ancestors called it magic and you call it science. Well, I come from a place where they're one and the same thing. [Thor is connecting the circles in her notebook]
Foster: What is that?
Thor: My father explained it to me like this, that your world is one of the Nine Realms of the Cosmos, linked to each other by the branches of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. Now you see it everyday without realizing. The images glimpsed through... What did you call it? This Hooble Telescope.
Foster: Hubble.
Thor: Hubble Telescope.
Foster: Tell me more.
Thor: So, the Nine Realms. [points to circles] Now, there is Midgard, which is Earth. This is Alfheim. Vanaheim. Jotunheim. And Asgard. And that's where I come from.

[eldaec]

I don't think it is nearly as hard as people are making out.

Science and magic in the same blockbuster has been done been done before and it turned out ok.

[Teleku]

Merusk, within the context of the movie Thor, I felt all that was to make sure everybody understood Thor was actually an alien and not a god with divine powers.  The comic book route of saying that he is literally a god and that Norse mythology is actually the correct religion would have been too stupid for the general public.  They obviously don't have a problem with Magic being in their universe, as they've committed to making a Dr. Strange movie.  There is no way in hell they'll be able to take the science route with him.

[tazelbain]

Can you fly from Earth to Asgard in a spaceship? Why is there only nine worlds in Asgardian cosmology when there is 10 of thousands of inhabited worlds in the Marvel universe? Until the movies answer that, there always be a nagging in back on head wondering how the MCU makes sense.

[Trippy]

The 9 worlds are linked, that's why they are special.

[eldaec]

Can you fly from Earth to Asgard in a spaceship? Why is there only nine worlds in Asgardian cosmology when there is 10 of thousands of inhabited worlds in the Marvel universe? Until the movies answer that, there always be a nagging in back on head wondering how the MCU makes sense.

I took it to mean 9 planes, and so no, you can't. But I don't know the Marvel nerd explanation.

But even if it turns out they mean 'these are the 9 planets we know about or give a shit about' I'm ok with that, as although Asgard is more advanced than Earth, noone ever claimed they are omniscient.

[MahrinSkel]

Well the Asgardians obviously know about and are in contact with the other planets/civilizations of the Marvel universe, as they sent the Aether to the Collector, have mentioned the Skrulls, and Lady Sif tangled with that Kree bounty hunter on MAoS.

If they ever try to reconcile the Asgardian 'science like magic' with the merely extremely high tech of the rest of the cosmos, I dunno.

--Dave

[Tannhauser]

I said it in another thread, but I figured the 9 planets were reserved for the Asgardians sphere of influence.  Otherwise you have more than a Kree secret breeding program on Earth, you'd have invasions and Nova 'protecting' it.  Just my rationale for it though.

[MediumHigh]

I think you guys need to realize that they didn't think very hard about Asgard or any part of Thor's lore beyond dude with hammer and his man pretty brother does stuff.

[jgsugden]

If you think they didn't overthink every decision they've made, you're not paying attention.  Just look at the Easter Eggs they slip in... the things they set up.  They put a lot of preparation into everything they do.  The decision to ground Thor in pseudo-science was very deliberate and discussed.

[Margalis]

I think you guys need to realize that they didn't think very hard about Asgard or any part of Thor's lore beyond dude with hammer and his man pretty brother does stuff.

"Why can Cyclops shoot lasers out of his eyes, that doesn't make sense!"
"He's a mutant - he has a mutation that makes his eyes shoot lasers."
"Ok...but then why doesn't the skin around his eyes burn off when he shoots?"
"Oh...did we say lasers? He shoots bolts of force, not lasers. They aren't hot."
"Wait...how can an eye generate a bolt of force?"
"His eyes move super fast, oscillating to create waves of force"
"So wait...he has super strong muscles behind his eyes? Where does his brain fit then."
....

None of it makes sense! It's turtles all the way down. (by turtles I mean bullshit)

If you think too hard about Thor and Asgard it doesn't make sense. But you can say the  same for 99% of comic. Don't think too hard. That's not the point of comics - they aren't speculative fiction.

[Ironwood]

This is why I liked Batman Begins.  Apart from some of the Ninja stuff, I didn't have to worry about all this shit.

Even Iron Man worked in my head. 

The morale of the story is money can do anything.  I guess.